Life of Pause
Jack Tatum’s chiming, ‘80s-style indie-pop under the Wild Nothing name has always struck a keen balance between abstract and direct, couching pop-minded songwriting in atmosphere so plush you could probably catch a decent nap in it. A richer, more elaborately arranged album than *Gemini* and *Nocturne*, *Life of Pause* adds Steve Reich-style marimba patterns (“Reichpop”), fluttering saxophones (“Lady Blue”), and newfound sonic clarity to the mix, channeling the sumptuous detachment of post-Berlin Bowie and focusing Tatum’s dream without ever disturbing it.
Wild Nothing's third full-length is their cheeriest and most fleshed out recording to date. Jack Tatum let his love of soul music and even some disco seep into his dream-pop project, and the best moments are the most PG-13 Wild Nothing has been on record yet.
On his third album, Jack Tatum steps out from the shadows to dissect romantic disintegration via his trademark tapestry of 80s indie influences and rediscovers his knack for euphoria in the process.
After heading into a real studio on the second Wild Nothing record Nocturne, Jack Tatum recorded the next album in three studios with producer Thom Monahan.
Life of Synth may have been a more apt title for Wild Nothing's third record, cultivated as it is around layers of woozy electronic timbres.
Third albums are typically the moment in a band's evolving artistry when one looks back on their achievements thus far and asks themselves:...
Counterintuitive as it may seem, Life of Pause, Jack Tatum's third full-length as Wild Nothing, is a work that makes quite a fuss over sounding less fussy than the records that preceded it.
Having sprung from his dorm room with bold ambitions on the dream-pop packed debut ‘Gemini’ then repeating the feat all over with the even
'Life of Pause' by Wild Nothing, album review by Graham Caldwell. The full-length comes out 2/19 on Captured Tracks. Wild Nothing play 4/20 in San Diego.
Jack Tatum’s third Wild Nothing album ticks all the indie boxes, but rarely excites in the process